Asia

New England

We just got back from a little road trip through New England for Labor Day weekend. From Buffalo, it’s about 7ish hours, so we decided to split up the drive since we weren’t leaving until Friday evening after Matt finished work, and I taught my afternoon spin class. We stopped for the night in Albany and booked a cheap Hampton Inn hotel to sleep for the night. In the morning we ate the buffet breakfast at the hotel and then got on the road to drive the rest of the way to Newport, Rhode Island. Because Matt booked all of our accommodations the day before we left, most hotels were booked, so we ended up staying in Providence and commuted to Newport for the day. We LOVE Newport!!! The quaint shops, live music, water, boats, trolleys, beautiful architecture, and of course, ice cream. ☺ Sometimes I wonder if Dylan only likes vacation because he knows we will buy him an ice cream cone in every town! Lol!

The next morning, we walked from the Omni Hotel to Sydney Providence, a modern looking cafe, for brunch. The food was unique and wonderful; I ordered avocado toast with Salmon and egg on top and the boys enjoyed fresh fruit, granola and yogurt! Matt and I sipped on LOTS of coffee and we stayed so long that we even got up to order an extra pastry which Dylan had no problem helping us finish... It was a win-win for all of us!

After breakfast, we headed to Cape Cod. Unfortunately, rain ruined any possibility to spend the afternoon on the beach, so we ended up just stopping for lunch in Sandwich, the oldest town in Cape Cod, settled by the Pilgrims. We ate at an adorable restaurant, Beth’s Cafe & Bakery, before heading to Boston! Dylan was super excited to get a key lime pie for lunch (don't judge😏). He did have a few pieces of Matt's sandwich bread and picked a couple of blueberries off my salad. My salad - the special of the day - was so fresh and tasty and Matt loved his lobster bisque, which he had to order since we were in Cape Cod. Beth's Cafe & Bakery used to be an old Puritan Church and the atmosphere was simply lovely!

In Boston, we stayed at an InterContinental Hotel, which was perfect for our family. Lucky for the boys, it was still raining when we arrived, so they got to swim in the hotel pool. When we finished swimming, the rain had finally stopped, and even though it was late, we decided to walk the city for a few hours. Fortunately, the next morning, we woke up to sunshine and warmth for a fantastic city walking day! We had so much fun following the Freedom Trail and stopping at shops and cafes along the way! Boston is full of Revolutionary War history, and we were able to see many of the landmarks including: Samuel Adams’ grave, the site of the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere’s House, and the battle of Bunker Hill. I’m not sure if Dylan understood much of the Revolutionary war history, such as: “no taxation without representation” or “don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes”, but I will certainly read to him “Make way for Ducklings” asap and point out that we were just at the Boston Public Gardens last weekend!

Our claim to
fame this trip is that, although we drove, we did not have to pay for parking
once! Each hotel offered parking on the
premises from $14 (in Albany) to $44 (in Boston) per night. Matt was able to find street parking
everywhere and we saved $150 total! Big time score!! J

This is a great hotel if you are using it has we did: a stop over to break up our trip. It checks all the boxes; clean, quiet, inexpensive, free buffet breakfast. We used street parking so that was free and we had no problems. We didn't interact much with the staff, but everything seemed to be run just fine.The wifi was good and the breakfast had a lot of options. It was busy, there was a wedding that weekend, but they kept up with everything at a reasonable pace.This is an American chain hotel to a tee. Cookie cutter rooms, fairly updated, decently run.... but it has no character or charm.

The Omni is a great hotel, it stands out in Providence as one of the elite. It's one of the tallest buildings in the area too! We went over Labor Day and booked last minute; man was it expensive! In the top 5 most expensive I've stayed in. We had a nice view of the city and harbor, our room was pretty big and everything was done well. The bathroom was beautiful. It's the kind of hotel that caters to large events and corporate visitors, so it doesn't fit very well with a family on vacation. The wifi wasn't free and neither was the breakfast.If you are in the city for business and aren't footing the bill, this is a perfect fit. Otherwise, the nickel & dime pricing for extras and huge basic cost will probably turn you off.

I love it when the hotel you stay in adds a good memory to your trip instead of sours it. The InterContinental did just that, it was so nice that it was a pleasure just to be in our room. Location-wise, it's in the downtown section, which probably isn't exactly where you want to be if you are sight-seeing; but we never took a cab and walked everywhere. The touristy parts of the city are pretty compact when it comes down to it.There is free wifi, but not free breakfast, which I wouldn't expect at a hotel like this in the US. The staff was really helpful, they even gave us an extra fridge for our room, so we could store milk for the baby. Our room was beautiful, very clean, big and comfortable. Nice big windows, a huge TV and really comfortable beds. We even used the pool, and the kids loved it.I usually prefer boutique hotels, but for a big chain hotel, this was really nice and I would definitely recommend it for your next stay in Boston!Restaurants:

Providence:
Sydney Providence- Amazing food! I
ordered avocado toast with Salmon and egg on top, the boys ate fruit and yogurt
and pastries.

Sandwich:
Beth’s Bakery and Cafe- So quaint and fresh. I had a salad, Matt ate lobster bisque & sandwich, and Dylan had a key lime pie. 😉Highlights:

Boston: Freedom
Trail (Samuel Adams’ grave, the site of the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere’s
House, and the battle of Bunker Hill) Quincy Market, Boston Public Gardens

I'm Sarah from Buffalo, New York. I am a follower of God, wife, mom, "retired" 3rd grade teacher; now a spin instructor and, of course, travel nut! My husband, Matt, and I have been married 8 years. I'm pretty obsessed with him, even though he ropes me into all of his shenanigans! ;-) We began traveling when we were first married, and now we are addicted! We have 2 boys, Dylan (3 years) and Christopher (10 months) who we tote all around the world with us! So far Matt and I have traveled to 41 countries together, Dylan, 25 countries, and Christopher, 11. We average about 5 countries/trips per year. We love to travel with our kids and I love sharing with others how it is TOTALLY doable!!! In this blog, I hope to share the places we've been, how we did it, and tips for making travel easier, even with your kids!!